DATE: September 5, 2023
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Sanja Bugay, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Amendment to Agreement with America Works of California, Inc. for CalFresh Employment and Training Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute Amendment No. 3 to Agreement with America Works of California, Inc., for CalFresh Employment and Training Services extending the term by one year from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024, and increasing the maximum by $529,638 to a total of $3,391,689.
REPORT
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the recommended action will allow the Department of Social Services to provide CalFresh Employment and Training (CFET) services to recipients CalFresh (CF) and General Relief (GR) benefits residing in Fresno County. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There is no viable alternative action. Should your Board elect not to approve the recommended action the Department will not be able to operate a CFET program beyond the current Federal Fiscal Year (FFY).
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The maximum amount of the agreement ($3,391,689) will be funded with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) funds from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and a cash match provided by America Works of California, Inc. (AWCA). Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 5610 FY 2023-24 Recommended Budget and will be included in subsequent budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
On March 26, 2019, following a Request for Proposal (RFP) procurement process in which AWCA was selected to provide these services, your Board approved Agreement No. 19-157 allowing AWCA to provide CFET services to eligible clients. AWCA has provided CFET services including case management, job-search training, and job retention services to the GR population. The agreement was approved with an initial term of six months, with two optional one-year extensions through September 30, 2021. On August 10, 2021, your Board approved Amendment No. 2 which extended the term for an additional two years to September 30, 2023 and increased the maximum amount of the agreement $1,529,878 to a total of $3,381,070.
Approval of the recommended action will extend AWCA’s services by one (1) additional year to allow sufficient time for the Department to restructure the CFET programs that Fresno County offers. The restructuring of the CFET program would allow the Department to serve a greater percentage of the CalFresh recipients and offer a wider selection of CFET components such as Work Experience (work-based learning, on-the-job training, pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships, internships, and transitional jobs) in addition to Education, Supervised Job Search and Job Retention. The extension will allow the CFET program to continue providing job-readiness training and employment opportunities to the CF and GR receiving population in the County without interruption until the RFP process is complete. This amendment will adjust the maximum amount of the agreement to reflect the actual allocations provided for each term. After these adjustments and the increase of $529,638 for FFY 2023-24, the total maximum amount of the agreement will be $3,391,689. The new agreement term will be five (5) years and six (6) months (March 26, 2019, to September 30, 2024).
If approved, the recommended agreement will be effective upon execution. The Agreement may be terminated without cause by either party upon providing 30-day advance written notice.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI, #54, August 10, 2021
BAI, #51, November 19, 2019
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Amendment No. 3 to Agreement with AWCA
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander